POWER

Power is a loaded term. It is anything but neutral. Some love it, others crave it, many fear it, and most are subjected to multiple forms of it.

As one can read on Wikipedia, "Power is a measure of an entity's ability to control the environment around itself, including the behavior of other entities. The term authority is often used for power, perceived as legitimate by the social structure. Power can be seen as evil or unjust, but the exercise of power is accepted as endemic to humans as social beings".

Power is energy, and as such is essential for life. Systems cannot organize themselves without some form of energy. Of course, how that energy is applied, how the power is used, will have a tremendous impact on the system and its components. In electrical systems, power must be regulated and kept constant. If a surge occurs, there are control mechanisms to shut it off through a breaker switch. This is of paramount importance as without such a control system, the electricity could cause a fire, kill someone, or fry electronic systems.

In human systems, power must also be controlled and managed. history has shown time and again that too much power in the hands of too few individuals can (and I claim usually will) lead to an abuse of that power. Infamous cases include (but are unfortunately not limited to), Nicolae Ceauşescu, dictator of Romania; Kim Jong-il, dictator of North Korea; Augusto Pinochet, dictator of Chile; Adolph Hitler, dictator of Germany; and the list could go on and on and on.

What do these have in common? Power was gathered and accumulated through the control of information. Information is power. <> can mean the difference between life and death in certain situations. In traditional organizations, top managers typically know more than employees at the bottom of the org chart. Because they hold more information, they may begin to think that such knowledge separates them from the people who have less. The fact that power can be used to control people without regard to their ideas, opinions, feelings, and aspirations can easily discourage people. In many organizations unit members feel powerless to bring about change to their working/relational environments. Individuals often feel as though there is nowhere to bring good ideas forward; no process in place to share and create; no forum to enable creative thoughts.

In Sociocracy, knowledge is wisdom. Because every employee works in a different level of the organization, it is therefore assumed that all these employees hold varying types of wisdom, none of which is more important to the system than the others. As such, everyone has the potential, and the means to, bring out proposals that will help steer the organization in the best possible direction.

As soon as an individual, be it a top manager, an elected representative, or a middle manager, so long as the person holds power, it can become destructive. Without the proper structure to harness that power and control it, it can easily fall off the rails and create havoc. The best intentions often have the most destructive consequences unless everyone who is subjected to it can have an equivalent voice.

Power is most constructive when well managed and well contained. A solid structure is required to achieve these. This is exactly what Sociocracy does.